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Thames Plate Glassworks

Submitted by dcw on Sun, 10/06/2013 - 23:48

The Thames Plate Glass Works operated for 32 years from 1845, surrounded in a loop of the River Lea where it enters the Thames. In a sordid run-down area mainly women polished the plate glass for mirrors. However, the factory deserves a niche in history for casting one of the 28-inch blanks for a telescope located on Wandsworth Common. This lens held the record for size for 18 years. For more info, maps and pictures click Later and Peripherial Glass Houses and then scroll down to Thames Plate Glass Works.